The price of naloxone, a drug that can reverse a drug overdose, has skyrocketed. That’s affecting efforts to prevent overdose deaths. Michelle MacKenzie runs an overdose prevention program at the Miriam Hospital. She says when her program started buying and distributing the injectable overdose rescue drug naloxone, in 2006, it cost about a dollar a vial. Today it’s $15 a vial.
“So if we had to pay $15 a vial, I mean, last year we distributed upwards of 800 kits, which is 1600 vials of naloxone. We would have been like, 200. I mean, think about that,” said MacKenzie.
MacKenzie said every vial represents a life that could be saved. Her program negotiated a better price from the manufacturer, but that deal runs out in December. She said it might be difficult for her volunteer and donation-based organization to buy as much naloxone as it needs at current market prices.
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